


Growing Up Avatar

by DominicKnight



Category: Avatar: Legend of Korra
Genre: Childhood, Gen, Headcanon, Pre-show, Southern Water Tribe, The White Lotus
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-05
Updated: 2018-01-18
Packaged: 2019-01-09 06:03:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12270384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DominicKnight/pseuds/DominicKnight
Summary: What's it like growing up knowing you're the Avatar?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I love the idea of exploring more of Korra's childhood and experience growing up in the White Lotus compound. Some of this is my own headcanon, and some is from what we know from the series.

“Korra? Could you come out here please?” Senna waited a moment before the little girl ran out of the only bedroom of the small hut. Her daughter’s shirt has ridden up and the ends of her pants hang over the girl’s usually bare feet.  

“Mama?” Korra stopped to take in the two people who are standing near the table.

Senna knelt down to her daughter’s level. “Korra, this is Master Katara and Chief Sokka. They’re here to see you.”

Korra turned to them as she stared at the two.

“Hey, kiddo. I’m Sokka. I hear you’re—“ Sokka started.

Korra grinned and went in for a hug from Katara. “You’re gonna teach me!” She latched onto the old healer, her small arms squeezing to the best of her ability.

Katara laughed and returned the gesture. “Yes, I will.” She smiled up at her brother. Hugging the little girl felt familiar. Her eyes watered at the thought of the last time she felt this way. She moved to a small couch against the wall where Korra followed and settled against her.

“When we startin’?” Korra looked up at Katara her eyes dazzling.

Sokka smiled and helped Senna move things so they could sit in a small circle around the young Avatar.

“We’ll work on some of the basics for now. But there’s plenty of time for that.” Katara poked Korra’s nose.

“I wanna start now…” Korra pouted and crossed her arms.

Katara laughed at recognizing that look.

“You can’t start if there’s a storm out there and it’s night, silly.” Sokka smiled at the girl.

Korra stared at Sokka for a moment before she seemed to lose interest in him and turned back to Katara. “But I wanna learn.”

Katara appreciated the girl’s eagerness. “You will. But my brother is right.” She glanced over at Sokka and Senna before she looked back to Korra. “The weather needs to clear up and then we’ll start.”

“Have you taught a lot of Avatars?” Korra stared up at Katara.

The healer hesitated for a moment, the tears welling in her eyes. “Yes. I taught the previous Avatar when he was a few years older than you.”

Korra’s mouth dropped open. “Watch this!” She reached out and the tea from Sokka’s cup swirled out and over to Korra’s hand.

“Hey…” Sokka laughed at the act and shook his head.

Katara watched as Korra managed to spin the water into a loose sphere, which sent droplets between all of them. “That’s very good. But I think we should wait until we can do this outside. I don’t think your mother would appreciate the mess.”

Korra’s tongue stuck out between her lips as she concentrated. She dropped the tea with only a small amount making it back into the teacup. “I did it!” Korra grinned at Katara.

“Yikes!” Sokka stood up at the damp spots on his pants.

Senna jumped up to grab a cloth. “Let me help you with that.”

Katara listened to Korra ask more questions about waterbending and how they were going to teach her. She answered as many as she could, and Sokka piped in on occasion. The Master Waterbender noticed that Korra seemed to ignore Sokka, which she figured was from the four-year-old’s attention span. Her brother took it all good-naturedly and talked to Senna.

The door opened sending a chill into the air of the warm hut. Tonraq stepped inside and shut the door as quick as he could with the wind howling outside.

“I’m sorry to be so late.” Tonraq dusted snow from his hood, heavy furs, and stomped his boots.  “Someone in the village needed assistance with a wall of their hut cracking.”

“Don’t apologize we were talking with Korra and Senna.” Sokka stood and approached the other man. They shook hands.

Everyone’s eyes went to Korra, who dozed off half in Katara’s lap half on the couch.

“Well, we were talking to her,” Sokka smirked.

Senna snickered at the little girl and how she somehow managed to tire herself out. She got up to get her husband some tea.

“It’s an honor to have you in my home, sir.” Tonraq turned to Sokka. “And of course to have Master Katara here as well. I imagine Korra was elated with you being here.” Tonraq turned to the woman who remained seated because she was trapped under Korra.

“She wanted to start training right away.” Katara laughed. “A young Avatar has quite a lot of energy. Her eagerness will be good to capitalize on when we do get the chance to start.”

Senna brought over a cup of tea for Tonraq, and the whole group settled into the chairs in a small circle so that Korra could be undisturbed.

“It’s a huge honor to know the next Avatar is from our village.” Sokka looked between Katara, who nodded in agreement. They both anticipated the announcement of the Avatar being found to come from the Northern Water Tribe. But somehow Raava chose a child in the Southern Water Tribe.

“We wanted to come and welcome her ourselves when we found out.” Katara’s hand rested on Korra’s back and moved with the child’s even breaths.

Tonraq and Senna exchanged a glance before they looked to Katara and Sokka. “You are both welcome to come by anytime. I can imagine having the Avatar back in your life is heartwarming,” Tonraq said.

Katara smiled. “You’ll be seeing a lot of me.”

“Me as well. Aang wanted us to help the White Lotus look out for the young Avatar. We’ll help with the transition as Korra gets older.” Sokka stood and reached for his heavy furs. “We should head back.”

Katara nodded, let Senna pick up the small girl, and stood.

Korra mumbled in her sleep and burrowed her face into her mother’s shoulder.

Tonraq got up. “Let me walk you to your home. It’s nasty out there.”

Sokka laughed. “You act as though we’ve never been here.”

“You’re chief of our tribe, Sokka. I can’t possibly let you head out into the storm unescorted.”

Sokka smiled and patted the young man’s shoulder. “Thank you. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask us. We want this to be as easy and comfortable as possible.”

Katara turned to Senna, who still held Korra against her. “You should take the opportunity to rest while you have the chance. I imagine with her energy she’s hard to keep up with.”

A light laugh escaped Senna’s mouth. “I’m starting to think she’ll never tire out.”

Katara chuckled. “She doesn’t seem like the type. Aang sure had boundless amounts of energy too.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had half a draft of this chapter for far too long. I figured it was time to actually finish it and get it posted for everyone. Enjoy!

Sokka winced as Katara held her glowing hands against the gash on his temple. He looked to Zuko, Tenzin, Tonraq, and Senna as they all sat around the main living space of the hut.

“Who are they?” Tonraq sat across Sokka, his wife healing the burn on his bicep.

Sokka shook his head. “The Red Lotus. An extremist cousin to the White Lotus.”

“What could they want with her? She’s a child!” Tonraq grumbled.

Sokka frowned, his gaze stopped at Korra asleep on the small couch hugging the polar bear dog pup. He didn’t want to wake the child with their discussion, but Tonraq and Senna were insistent that she be in their eyesight after the events of that night.

“That we’re not so sure.” Zuko crossed his arms. “We have some ideas, but nothing concrete. And I have a feeling getting them to talk will not be the easiest task.”

Katara lowered her hands and slid them into her sleeves. “What’s important here is that Korra is safe.”

“She’s safe but for how long? How do we know someone else won’t try and kidnap her? Or kill her?” Tonraq turned his eyes to Katara and then glanced around the group.

Sokka sighed. “We can’t guarantee anything. But we can actively keep her safe.”

“How?” Tonraq’s eyes narrowed at Chief Sokka. He respected the man, but with his daughter’s safety in jeopardy, he wasn’t going to take a light answer.

“What about a compound?” Tenzin spoke up and all eyes turned to him.

“A compound?” Tonraq looked at the Master Airbender.

“Think of it like any of the Air Temples. Remote and somewhere that the Avatar could train without being bothered. It’d be somewhere the White Lotus could guard much easier than if she lived here.” Tenzin sat back in his chair. “No offense to your village, or your home. But it’s not the easiest to protect.”

Tonraq watched as Senna went and draped a blanket over Korra before returning to sit next to him. He turned his attention to Sokka. “What do you think, Chief?”

Sokka put his hand on his chin. “That could work. Aang wanted the White Lotus to act as protectors of the Avatar. Creating a compound somewhere that they guard and where the Avatar trains until they are a master would be ideal.”

“The Earth Kingdom has plenty of land for a compound.” Zuko nodded as he thought of a few locations that were devoid of people.

Tonraq exchanged a glance with his wife. Before he turned his attention back to the group. “I’m not comfortable sending my daughter off to some remote location in the Earth Kingdom. You’re all parents, you wouldn’t agree to ship one of your kids off and not have a way to contact them.”

Sokka nodded, seeing the same from the others. He observed Tonraq take Senna’s hand an squeeze it. The young couple reminded him of his own parents, back when he and Katara were small. His gaze went back to Korra. He promised Aang he would help the White Lotus protect the next Avatar. Sokka finally looked at his sister, the first female Master Waterbender.

“We’ll build it here in the South.” Sokka kept his gaze on Katara.

“Are you sure, Chief?” Senna sat up, staring at Sokka.

The Chief smiled. “Yeah. Korra needs to learn her native element first, right? She should be taught by the best Waterbender there is who has experience teaching the previous Avatar. So why not here?” He saw Katara return his smile with her eyes closed.

Zuko frowned. “We can’t attach it to a village, or Harbor City. That could make it an easy target, and who knows how many threats could arrive on these shores.”

Tenzin gave a slight nod in agreement with Zuko. “What about the other elements? We can’t possibly build a compound for the Avatar in every nation. The Earth Queen would reject the proposal immediately.”

“Why can’t the Master Benders come to the compound? Presumably, it would have the ability to house the White Lotus, plus the Avatar. And then from there each Master comes and stays while the Avatar focuses on their element.” Sokka sat back and waited to see what the thoughts were from around the table.

“I would feel more comfortable if Korra were closer and under protection besides my own.” Tonraq leaned against his seat back.

“The location should be kept from the world. White Lotus, the Masters, and the Avatar’s family should be the only people aware.” Zuko crossed his arms and looked at his oldest friends.

“We should draw up plans right away and determine where it’s going to be.” Tenzin reached up and ran a hand over his bald head.

“I’d like to look over these plans and make sure this place is going to be secure.” Tonraq straightened in his seat. “And I want to know that those attackers are going to be as far as possible from Korra.”

“All four of them have been subdued, however, we are looking into specific options for each of them based on their bending ability. They are highly skilled.” Zuko frowned and crossed his arms. “I suggest we contact Suyin and Bataar to help with those arrangements and possibly the compound too.”

Sokka reached over and put a hand on Tonraq’s shoulder closest to him. “We’re going to do everything in our power to keep Korra safe. I promise.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Please let me know what you think either in the comments or on tumblr: dominicknight.tumblr.com


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